Mobile positioning technologies enable a mobile device to approximate its real world location. A mobile device that utilizes global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning determines timing data in signals received from a plurality of satellites. The timing data is then analyzed by the mobile device to determine a current location, including a latitude, longitude, and altitude of the mobile device. The acquisition, monitoring, and processing of the GNSS signals by the mobile device are both energy and computationally intensive processes. Furthermore, the GNSS positioning technique is limited in that it requires a line of sight with at least three satellites to enable position determination. Thus, use of GNSS positioning in cityscapes, indoors, or other visually obscured locations becomes difficult.
A network based positioning system is observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning. In such a system, the mobile device obtains timing data from cellular network transceiver signals. The timing data is transmitted to a server, which is able to determine the mobile device's position from a combination of the timing data and known real-world locations of the cellular network transceivers. The server may then return the positioning determination to the mobile device. However, typically the server forwards the determined position of the mobile device to a third party, such as an emergency services provider, and possibly the mobile device. This network based positioning technique is also limited because it requires the mobile device to search for, and acquire, the appropriate signals from a group of cellular network transceivers and transmit the data to the server. Furthermore, to determine a second position of the mobile device, the entire process must be repeated. Thus, the searching of cellular network transceivers, the timing required to perform the search, and the number of times network device positioning is performed greatly impact the resulting positioning process, the computational resources consumed by the mobile device, and the power expended by the mobile device to perform the positioning process.